A convicted drug dealer who crashed a drone while trying to smuggle heroin into a prison was jailed for more than five years yesterday.

Mechanic John Grant, 47, lost control of the aircraft laden with drugs, three mobile phones and two chargers as he attempted to pilot it towards Edinburgh’s Saughton prison under the cover of darkness.

The hapless heroin addict was using an iPad to direct the drone from a spot about 400 yards from the jail – but it ended up flying in the opposite direction before hitting a garden shed.

Police recovered footage from the drone, which was equipped with a camera, showing Grant adjusting its settings as he sat in his living room the night before the ill-fated flight.

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This footage from the drone's camera shows the lights of Saughton prison

Instead of delivering its contraband cargo to the jail, it came down in a garden in Redhall Place – about 400 yards in the opposite direction.

The court heard police were alerted by the owner of the house later that morning.

She had noticed string in her back garden and as she started winding it up, the stuffed sock fell from her shed.

The woman then discovered the drone lodged between the hut and her garden fence.

Officers got the information they needed to trace the £1000 DJI Phantom 4’s owner on the gadget’s memory card.

When they raided Grant’s flat in Loganlea Terrace on November 18, they found the drone’s box, a controller, instructions and the iPad used to control it.

They also discovered a mould, metal plates, a jack and tools used in the compression of heroin for distribution.

Grant admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin between November 5 and 18. He also pled guilty to attempting to fly drugs and phones into the jail and culpably and recklessly piloting the drone at night, and with no lights, to the danger of the public and aircraft.

Prosecutor Jim Keegan told the court the drone was not designed to carry a load and was flown in a congested area close to Edinburgh airport with its aviation lights covered to make it less visible.

Apart from the “potential for air traffic conflict”, ground hazards included a power transformer in Redhall Gardens and a power sub-station in Redhall Grove.

Sentencing Grant to five years and four months, Judge John Morris QC said he’d engaged in “reckless conduct in the extreme which could have had catastrophic consequences”.

Tony Lenehan, defending, said his client, who was sentenced to 44 months in jail in 2009 for drug dealing, “descended from being an occasional drug user to a habitual heroin addict” after his release.

The lawyer added: “He became a junior partner or employee in this criminal enterprise.” He said Grant did not own the drugs.

Sergeant Graeme Rankin, Police Scotland’s Civil Aviation Authority liaison officer, said last night: “People need to be aware that a drone is classed as an aircraft and therefore is governed by aviation legislation.”